Variable capacitance membrane actuator for wide band tuning of microstrip resonators and filters
US7400488B2 · kind B2 · utility
42Cited by
46References
13Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jul 15, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03J2200/39
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A device for varying the capacitance of an electronic circuit is disclosed. The device comprises a flexible membrane located above the electronic circuit, a metal layer connected to the flexible membrane, and bias circuitry located above the membrane. Variation of the capacitance of the electronic circuit is obtained by pulling the membrane upwards by means of the bias circuitry. The disclosed device provides a sizeable capacitance variation and high Q factor, resulting in overall low filter insertion loss. A nearly constant group delay over a wide operating bandwidth is also obtained.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.